My Photos

Month: August 2018

After the thrilling volcano-viewing session, a nice dinner, and a good night’s sleep, we arrived at our last Hawaii stop, the town of Kailua-Kona. Again, the Crystal Symphony had to “anchor out” in the harbor, and we were ferried in on the ship’s tenders. It was only a 15-minute ride, and we got a good view of the other vessels. On these trips, passengers and speakers rode together and got a glimpse of famous people dressed-down.

Yep, that’s Victor Davis Hanson in shorts and lime-green t-shirt.

Seen from the dock on shore, there’s the Symphony and one of the other tenders, which shuttled back and forth all during the day. Here’s what we encountered after getting off the tender.

Now that’s Hawaii! Those outrigger canoes were available for rental right at the dock. Also right at the dock were some very Hawaiian businesses. I got the biggest kick out of this shop. I wonder what distinguishes “gourmet” from “ordinary” Hawaiian Shave Ice?

My husband just had to try real Kona Coffee, so we went into the shop next door. Another sign that just caught my fancy. We don’t have kids, but I wonder if parents would find this funny. I sure did.

From the dock, we took a walk through town, just seeing the sights and peeking into the various shops. We found a little outdoor mall, which had a very interesting fountain in the middle. It featured some exotic plants, and some interesting animals too.

I thought those mosses were so beautiful, with the rivulets of water cascading down.

Now, see that tree trunk? I moved around to the left, and used the zoom setting on my camera, and what I saw was quite remarkable.

I spotted both the little green lizard on the left, and the big snail on the right very quickly. Hubby had to be shown the snail! I was fortunate to get them both in the picture before the lizard moved, and he was standing very still.

We headed down the street, and passed this landmark.

I don’t know, that doesn’t look like much of a palace to me, but it was in its day.

We (well, I anyway) did some shopping, and on our way back to the dock, we found a little beach, in back of a motel in town. This beach had some beautiful volcanic rocks, and a nice view of the harbor and the incoming surf. No surfers, however, since the beach was way too rocky!

On a pretty gray day, that wave looked awfully blue! And see the kite-surfer on the horizon? We seemed to see them at every port we visited in Hawaii, though this one stayed pretty far from shore, for obvious reasons. I did like the volcanic rocks, which showed the makeup of the terrain on this island.

We walked as far as we could on the beach walk, then headed back toward the street. I did enjoy viewing all the varieties of plant life in Hawaii, many of which were brightly-colored. These flowers grew on the motel property.

I thought this tree-trunk looked a bit like an elephant. I wonder why?

So we made our way back to the street to walk back to the dock.

I really liked the twisted branches of this tree. I zoomed in on it to capture the smaller branches. Can you see the bird in this photo? Even I had to look more than once to see what I had captured! And I don’t know what kind of bird it was.

We took the tender back to the ship, and while en route saw this.

That is a little half-submarine, which took tourists out to see what is beneath the waves. We went back aboard the Symphony, and left harbor around 6:00PM. From this shot from the ship’s deck, it looks like the trip home might be a bit choppy.

We arrived in Hilo just before noon, and the skies were hazy with what had been described to us as “vog”, or “volcano fog”, caused by the still-erupting volcano on the other side of the island. About which more later.

Above is the view from the port side of the ship. Below is the view from the starboard side.

We disembarked from the ship, and walked into a large concrete hall, where we found the welcome murals.

We boarded a bus for the short ride into town. When we got off the bus, the downtown area was just across the street. To be honest, we didn’t think much of the town of Hilo. To us, it looked rundown and in need of a facelift. At least where we were, the buildings looked old and tired, and rust was evident everywhere. [but that is probably not unusual in a town on an island in the ocean, where they are surrounded by salt water]. The first thing we saw across the street was this.

Most people are familiar with farmers’ markets, where local farmers gather to sell their produce and other merchandise to the people in cities. This, however, was a very unusual farmer’s market, where the items for sale were somewhat unfamiliar to those of us who live on the mainland.

You would expect Maui onions, which don’t have very far to travel. See the big roots called taro? Those make the island food called “poi”, which, from its description, is pretty awful. But it was very popular in the islands through history, and seems to still be an island staple.

I was just flabbergasted at the size of those green onions in the foreground. They must have been two feet long from one end to the other! There were flowers, and other island products in addition to the various fruits and vegetables.

We left the farmers market to walk through town and see what we could find. We knew that Hawaii is a very liberal state, almost entirely governed by Democrats. So this combination of signs did not surprise us.

Here are some of the sights from our trip around the central area of Hilo.

I got a kick out of the pineapples on the side of this building. How very Hawaii! Actually, pineapple is my favorite fruit, and was a staple of the breakfast buffet on the Crystal Symphony. It was also the end-of-meal palate-cleanser in the Churrascaria restaurant aboard ship. I got my fill of pineapple on this cruise, and now that we are home, I miss my daily ration of pineapple!

We had a nice lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Ocean Sushi. Then, it was back to the ship for our cruise around the island of Hawaii to our next stop at Kailua-Kona. Leaving the harbor, some of the vog had cleared up.

Nice views from those houses! The sun was setting as we left.

As the sun was setting, we left the rail and went back inside for dinner. But after dinner came the very best part of the cruise for us. After sunset, we approached the other side of the big island of Hawaii. Here is our first glimpse of the most important part of our cruise, the part that everyone had been waiting for.

Yes, this was the first sight of the still-erupting Kilauea Volcano. We were still fairly far away, but we could hear the sound of the lava hitting the salt water, and we could smell the sulfur in the air, too. It’s hard to capture the entire experience on film, since it involved all your senses. But this was something that we will never forget. Here are some of what I think are my best volcano pictures, but they don’t really do it justice.

You’ve heard the phrase “fire and brimstone”? Well, this is real, live, fire and brimstone.

Needless to say, anyone who could, found their way to the top decks of the ship, close to the bow. This is the passengers crowded at the bow of Deck 12, the Sun Deck. There was excellent commentary by the resident scientist on the ship, describing what we were seeing and hearing, and providing some background history of the geology of Hawaii.

Finally, though, the Captain came on the loudspeaker and informed us that, due to the water around our ship becoming too warm (!), we would have to leave the area and proceed on to our next destination. So we left, motoring around the Big Island to our next, and final port of call. But you know what the topic of conversation was all the rest of that night!

Like this:

We normally got up around 8:00AM, so we were able to stand at the rail and watch the island of Maui appear. As usual, it was a beautiful, sunny day.

We saw many of these kite-surfers all around the Hawaiian Islands. Lahaina Harbor had a few, with their colorful kites.

The Crystal Symphony had to anchor out at Lahaina, since there is no cruise-ship dock there. Here’s a picture of the ship, taken from the window of the ship’s tender that ferried passengers back and forth all day, about every 30 minutes.

When we arrived at the dock in Lahaina, we were greeted by the cutest trio of ladies, doing their hula dance to the music of a small band. They were just throughly delightful.

Aren’t they just precious? That was the best welcome we could have asked for.

We discovered, to our surprise and delight, that there was an amateur surfing competition going on close to the dock, so we stood with the rest of the spectators and watched the kids go out with their surfboards to compete. We saw 10-year-old boys, and girls in their competition. They were marvelous!

After we watched the kids surfing, we took off down the streets to explore the town of Lahaina. There is a nice city park a short walk from the dock, where we saw a bunch of the big banyan trees that seem to populate most of the Hawaiian islands. These were especially large, with multiple trunks. It’s too bad the locals can’t keep from carving their initials everywhere they can reach.

Hubby took this one of me, for scale.

Next, it was a walk down Front Street, to find a place to have lunch. And, boy, did we find a place! We came upon Mick Fleetwood’s on Front, owned by the rock-and-roll icon, and decided to have lunch there. We were seated on the upper level, where we had a nice view of the ocean.

Now, for all you environmentalists out there, we here in the Seattle area are in the thick of the “plastic-straw-ban” movement. Well, Hawaii is ahead of us! See what we drank our lunch libations with?

How about those nice, colorful paper straws! Very festive. And the best was yet to come. Fleetwood’s has live music, and there was a band playing for our lunch, and another hula dancer. Very nice lunchtime entertainment.

After lunch, we putzed around downtown Lahaina, and of course I took more pictures.

Across the bay from Lahaina is the island of Lanai, and multiple boats advertised day trips there.

Too soon, it was time to leave for our next stop, the Big Island of Hawaii. But on the way, we were treated to more beautiful scenery. In the picture below, that flat area is a big solar farm, situated on the other side of Maui. I guess you’d expect a tropical island to take advantage of their natural benefits.

Maui is described as the Valley Island, and you can really see that here.

So it was on to the next stop, Hawaii. Most of the journey was done at night while we slept, and we regretted not being able to see the journey. But Nature and the ship’s Captain had some interesting experiences in store for us.

The Crystal Symphony is a beautiful ship, and my readers and followers know my penchant for taking “artsy” pictures when I am aboard ship. Following is a group of pictures I took aboard ship, at various times on the 15-day cruise.

These lockers hold life jackets and other safety gear.

The bow of the ship on the Promenade Deck is the crew’s outdoor lounge, and they have their own hot tub. They deserve it!

Maintenance was ongoing on this cruise, and this crew member was painting something on the structure of the ship below deck level.

The highest deck is the Sun Deck. See that netted structure? That’s the enclosed paddle-tennis court, where you would find passengers and crew at most times of day.

Exotic woman, spotted in the ship’s casino.

The Waterside Dining Room windows gave a great view of the “wash” where the ship’s hull meets the water. It’s hypnotic to watch, and beautiful.

That’s Swarovski Crystal. Yes, Crystal, as in Crystal Cruises.

This cruise held something new and different around every corner. I captured but a small part of it.

Finally, on our sixth day out, we spotted signs of nearing land. I love transportation, and was thrilled to see a container ship on the horizon.

We finally saw signs of land.

Finally, we rounded the last headland and got our first glimpses of Honolulu.

The famous Diamond Head, an extinct volcano that almost stands for Honolulu. My readers may not know that, in 1962, my family pioneered the “home exchange” movement, when we swapped houses with a family in Honolulu for a month during the Seattle World’s Fair. My mother’s cousin was the managing editor of the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, and he found a family that wanted to swap with us. Their house was in the Kahala neighborhood, on the other side of Diamond Head.

More views of the harbor of Honolulu, including its container port and city park. There was a whole fleet of tugboats, used to guide big ships into the harbor.

Surfers! Right in the harbor among the boats and buoys.

See the fleet of tugboats, waiting for work in the harbor. July is actually low season for cruise ships in Hawaii, and there was just one other ship in port when we docked on Friday afternoon. We didn’t have a lot of time left in the day, so we just took the opportunity to take the bus into town, to the famous Ala Moana Shopping Center. It has been there for many years, and I remember going shopping there in 1962. It’s a lot bigger now, and we were impressed with all the stores, and the many amenities.

The first place we stopped upon alighting from the bus was a little Japanese shopping area, which was filled with food sellers and tiny shops. Located there was a shrine, based upon the Asian Zodiac, with carved Buddha statues for all the animals of the Asian Zodiac. The statues were very intricately-carved, and before each stood a “charity box” for people to donate based on their sign.

In the center of the mall is an artificial river, with koi ponds and a waterfall. I loved the colorful fish, easily visible through the clear water. What a beautiful, relaxing place!

And some human interest that I just couldn’t prevent myself from photographing. This little boy and his grandfather were enjoying the pond and fish.

We discovered that we could not leave behind signs of our home. See that Ben Bridge store in the background? They are based in Seattle, and I want to Synagogue with the Bridge children.

After doing a bit of shopping and getting the obligatory Starbucks Frappuccino, we went back to the ship for dinner, to relax in preparation for the next day’s outing to Pearl Harbor.

Saturday, we again boarded buses for the trip to our tour of Pearl Harbor, and the USS Missouri. The Missouri was where the Japanese finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, and we saw many landmarks of that historic occasion.

This was the entrance, and our first glimpse of the vessel. Not far inside the entrance and off to the left was this typical sign of WWII military bases.

From the dock you can see the Arizona Memorial in the background, but we could not go aboard, as it was closed due to structural problems. I could not get over that absolutely spectacular sky.

Our group, listening to our guide at the bow of the ship.

The deck of the Missouri was an excellent platform for photographing Pearl Harbor.

This was the Surrender Deck where the Americans and other allies accepted Japan’s surrender. This plaque commemorates the occasion.

After our tour of the ship, our Hillsdale group was treated to a catered lunch on the fantail of the ship, and a lecture by Victor Davis Hanson, on the weaponry of World War II.

After lunch, we boarded a launch for a trip around the harbor. It was the closest we could get to the Arizona Memorial that was closed.

Once back on land, we were free to explore the rest of the Pearl Harbor exhibit, which was extensive. Hubby instantly declared that he wanted to see the submarine, the USS Bowfin, which was available for tours. Going through my pictures, I discovered that I’d gotten an excellent picture of the craft, that really shows how long it is.

The tubes and other machinery in the torpedo room show you how little space there was in that vessel. Definitely no place for anyone suffering from claustrophobia!

Again back on land, here is more of the scenery.

That’s Plumeria, the state flower of Hawaii. I have fond memories of sitting on the grass in front of the house we stayed in, in 1962, with my sister, making leis from the Plumeria bush in the front yard.

Old Polaris Sub-launched Ballistic Missiles. Fortunately, there was no need to use them, and they essentially died of old age. Military readiness keeps us safe.

And I just could not resist capturing these two totally-unexpected tour vans parked in the Pearl Harbor lot. Who would have thought there were Polish tour companies? Well, it looks like there are! And, get the license plates!

One other structure that I was not able or willing to photograph presented itself on the way back to the city after our tour. It seems that the Hawaiians have drunk the same Kool-Aid as the Seattleites, and have been building a “light-rail” project between Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. And, just like Seattle, it is a long way from being finished, and way over budget. And the driver told us that the project has been dogged by all sorts of government corruption, resulting in lengthy lawsuits. Sigh, it sounded very familiar, and everything being more expensive in Hawaii, it will probably be a bigger drag on their economy than ours already is. The progressives who run both places never tire of their stupid, backward-looking transit projects that no one will ride but everyone will have to pay for, in perpetuity.

There was still some light left when we got back from the tour, so we walked a bit. Right on the same cruise ship pier is this Honolulu landmark.

And across the street is this beautiful tree.

As it had been a very long day, we re-boarded the ship and had a shower and dinner. Later in the evening, our ship pulled away from the dock, and headed toward Maui at sunset.

By Day Four, we had gotten well into the routine of morning and afternoon lectures, broken up by an awesome breakfast buffet, walks on the deck when the weather permitted, lunch by the window, and just relaxing in the stateroom. Most of the time, it was too windy and cold on the deck to sit outside much, which was a disappointment.

Day Four began with a walk out on the Promenade Deck 7, with my camera, around 7AM.

This is the view off the starboard bow.

Isn’t this just the Deep Blue Sea? I really could not get over how blue the water was in the North Pacific. Achingly Blue.

Look! You can see the curvature of the earth!

This is part of the mechanism that lifts lifeboats into and out of the water. I took a bunch of pictures of all the equipment on board that is there to ensure that everyone gets off alive in the event of a disaster.

The first lecture of the morning was by historian and journalist John Steele Gordon, who spoke about the economy under Obama, and under Trump. He spoke to a rapt audience, and took spirited questions later.

Next came Walter Russell Mead, Wall Street Journal columnist, discussing the US, Israel, and the fate of my Jewish people.

The final morning speaker was our friend Michael Walsh, whom we met on the Alaska cruise in 2016, and had dinner with on this cruise on the first evening. His talk was on Politics and the Arts, about which he writes in his newest book The Fiery Angel. Walsh is a delightful guy, and we met him and his delightful wife, Kate, often in our strolls around the ship, mostly after dinner at the Avenue Saloon.

After lunch, was the lecture we’d all been waiting for. Michael Ramirez, political cartoonist, spoke and showed pictures from his book “Give Me Liberty or Give Me ObamaCare”, which was a riot. He had his audience laughing and groaning in turns.

Mild-mannered-looking gentleman, but his wit is biting, and he knows just where to hit Liberals.

In the afternoon after the last lecture, I again walked the deck looking for likely pictures.

My readers will know my love of clouds, and I sure found some beautiful ones on this cruise.

Oh, yeah, and there’s the Pool Deck, where many passengers spent hours getting a tan. See that gazebo on the left? They had a band playing there in the afternoon.

The big lecture attraction of Day Five was Patrick Caddell, the self-described Democrat pollster, opining on what has happened to the Democratic Party. I have already done one post on his talk, and I can’t really say much more, except that his lecture brought down the house. He got rousing applause often during his speeches. He deserved it!

We also heard from Roger Kimball again, and Victor Davis Hanson, who spoke on the Second World Wars. This was in preparation for our arrival in Honolulu, home of Pearl Harbor. Mr. Hanson spoke without notes, which was very impressive.

I admit that I took my camera to all the lectures, and sometimes I’d just point it at something in the room and snap. The Galaxy Lounge was the place all the Broadway shows were staged, and I was intrigued by the complex lighting arrangement on the ceiling.

Late on this day, things started to get stormy outside, and we hit some fairly rough seas. I said many times during this voyage that we were getting great balance practice! It’s a wonder more people didn’t fall when the ship was pitching and rolling around. When was the last time you took a shower on a moving vehicle? That’s an experience in itself!

Looked at from this angle (looking down from our veranda to the Promenade Deck below), the water looks almost black. Isn’t light wonderful? That’s the last of Day Five.

Sea days were lecture days on the Hillsdale Cruise, and the first two helped get us into the standard daily routine of morning lectures, lunch, afternoon lecture, and free time. Monday the 16th of July introduced us to the lecture hall, known aboard ship as the Galaxy Lounge. Here we all are that first morning of lectures.

The first talk of the morning was by Victor Davis Hanson, Distinguished Fellow, Hillsdale College (and distinguished classical historian). His subject was “The Current State of the US Military”, and as usual he held us all spellbound. Today’s military has been subjected to differing rules, regulations, and budgets depending upon who is president, and the discussion was spirited.

Next, we were treated to a talk by the President of Hillsdale College, Dr. Larry Arnn. Everyone on the cruise was very familiar with Dr. Arnn, and we enjoyed his speech. Dr. Arnn has always been one of my role models as a Good Person.

His was the last lecture of the day, so after listening to Dr. Arnn, we adjourned for lunch, and a free afternoon exploring the many wonders of the Crystal Symphony. Not far from the Galaxy Lounge is the ship’s Casino. On sea days, you could hear the merry jingling of machines and the hum of conversation from the casino whenever you passed near.

Sometimes we would have lunch in the Silk Restaurant, an Asian-flavored venue. I loved the decor there, including a wall of art most unusual, and pretty furniture. They also had some vertical gardens that lent a natural touch to the space.

After lunch, it was time for a tour around the Promenade Deck. At the bow of this ship is a “fitness garden” of outdoor equipment for people to take a turn on as they stroll the deck, as well as lifeboats and other safety paraphernalia. The sea and sky were beautiful this day, too.

Tuesday’s morning lectures were by George Neumayr, Contributing Editor of the American Spectator, and Nick Lloyd, Professor of Military History at King’s College, London.

This is Mr. Neumayr. We met him at dinner on Sunday and we enjoyed his talk.

Mr. Lloyd gave three lectures on his specialty, World War I, which were very informative.

Tuesday’s afternoon lecturer was Roger Kimball, Editor and Publisher of The New Criterion. His new book is very colorfully-titled, and available for purchase later, signed by the author. Many of the tour’s lecturers had books for us to buy, which we did!

Tuesday afternoon I did my tour around the Promenade Deck and took pictures, as usual. It looked like the weather was going to get stormier, so I took every opportunity to get outside. My readers will know that I have a fascination for the water and the sky from the ship, and I took many photos of the ever-changing sea.